Alexander siiiels



(No Model.)

yA. SHIELS. MILKING MACHINE,

No. 558,666. Patented Apr. 21, 1896.

ANDREN a GRAMM PHoTU-Ln'no WASHINGTONJDC UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALEXANDER SIIIELS, OF GLASGOV, SCOTLAND.

MILKING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 558,666, dated April 21, 1896. Application filed September 27, 1895. Serial No. 563,914. (No model.)

` B., C. M., B. Sc., a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident ot the city of Glasgow, Scotland, have invented certain n ew and useful Improvements in Milking-Ma` chinos, of which the following' is a specification.

In my prior application, Serial No. 560,421, dated August 2a, 1895, I have described a vacuum pulsating device which is operated by means of a cam on the main driving-shaft of the machine. The pulsator has acting in conjunction with it a by-pass7 valvez'. e., a valve for supplying additional vacuum to the teat-cups of the milking-machine at certain timesa vacuum-destroyin g valve for destroying, at certain times, any excess of vacuum at the teat-cups, and also a constant valve for giving a regular supply of vacuum from the vacuum-reservoir to the pulsator. The arrangement and operation of these devices are fully explained in the specilication of my aforesaid application.

This invention has for its obg ect to combine in one device the pulsator andthe by-pass valve, so that the parts of the machine can be reduced and simplified and a better action produced.

The annexed drawing shows the new pulsating device. l

As will beseen, the device consists of a casing a., having two passage-ways b c in it, the one, h, communicating with the valve CZ, which is the constant valve for regulating the supply of vacuum from the vacuum-reservoir and is of the same construction as in my prior invention, and the other, c, communicating with the pipe f, leading to the teat-cups of the milking-machine. Passing up through the casing and out at its upper end is aspindle g, on which a disk valve h is fitted capable of closing an opening i, having a ring-seat j init, establishing communication between the aforesaid passages b c. There is also fitted on the spindle, above the valve h,a cup-shaped piston Zt, which works in a liner 7c', secured in the casing,and a double or single diaphragm Z, held in place between the cover of the casing and said liner and which is open to atmospheric pressure on its upper side through the hole m in the casing. The spindle g is connected by the link g at its upper end to one end of the cross-lever n, fulcrumed at n on the pillar o, secured to the casing or its cover, and which lever has at its other end the wheel or roller p. Slung, by means of a jaw q, upon the lever n or to the spindle r of the wheel or roller is a weight s. The spindle lwith its valve h is operated by the cam t t in the same manner as the spindle and valve of the pulsator described with reference to Fig. 7 of the specification of my prior application aforesaid.

The weight s is so arranged relatively to the area of the diaphragm Z and the suction, when the machine is working, on the under side of the valve h that, apart from the action of the cam t, the valve h will remain closed so long as the vacuum at the teat-cups is at or above the minimum, but will immediately open automatically whenever the vacuum at said teat-cups is reduced below the minimum; and the whole arrangementis such that when the cam Z t begins to operate on the roller p the pulsating valve h is slowly opened to the full extent and gradually supplies vacuum from the constant valve d to the teatcups until the maximum is reached, when the valve h suddenly closes sufticiently to reduce the vacuum down again to the minimum. So long as the milking is going on the valve h never closes entirely, as the weight s is so adj usted that a minimum vacuum sufficient to retain the teat-cups on the cows teats is always supplied from the valve CZ. It will thus be readily seen that the arrangement serves bothas a by-pass valve to prevent the vacuum at the teat-cups falling below the minimum and as a pulsator.

a is thecasing of the constant valve CZ.

v is the passage leading from the vacuumreservoir of the milking-machine to the constant valve.

w is the constant-valve spindle.

@c is the cam-shaft, driven from the drivingshaft of the machine.

The dotted lines as' indicate one of the standards or pillars for carrying the driving-shaft of the machine.

The arrows indicate the direction ofthe vacuum-now from the constant valve to the pipe f and teatecups.

Having now fully described my invention,

IOO

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In combination, the suction-pipe, a pulsator-valve therein and means for operating the pulsator-valve, said valve having; capacity for opening movement independent of said means so as to act when necessary as a bypass valve, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the suction-pipe, a pulsator-valve, means lfor operating,` the same positively to produce the pulsations and a diaphragm exposed to the air and a weight for controlling the valve independent of said operating means.

3. In combination, the suction-pipe, the pulsator-valve therein, means for operating,` the same to produce the pulsations and means for operating` the valve when the vacuumpressure at the teat-cups falls below a mint mum, substantially as described.

4. In combination, the suction-pipe, the pulsator-valve and means for operating the same, said valve being Weighted to open automatically Whenever the vacuum-pressure at the teat-cups falls below a minimum.

5. In a milking-machine the combination with the valve-casing and valve therein with its spindle, of adiaphragm lit-ted on the valvespindle and acted on by the atmosphere, a Weighted cross-lever attached to the valvespindle and a rotating cam for pressing down the lever and gradually opening` the valve, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

Signed at Glasgow, Scotland, this 19th day of August, A. D. 1895.

ALEXANDER SHIELS. lVitnesses:

WILLIAM FLEMING, NVILLIAM GALL. 

